Rotary compressor for wire-covering machines.



.wlmgssesi H. L. OWEN.

ROTARY COMPRESSOR FOR WIRE COVERING MACHINES.

APiLIOATION FILED JAN. 20, 1909.

Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

' INVENTOR Harry L. Owen,

H. L. OWEN.

ROTARY COMPRESSOR FOR WIRE COVERING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1909.

1,053,061., Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

INVENTOR Harry L Owen.

s'ra rns PATENT oFFIoE.

HARRY L. OWEN, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

' ROTARY COMPRESSOR FOR WIRE-COVERING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

Application filed January 20, 1909. Serial No. 473,244.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY L. OWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Compressors for Wire-Covering Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to a machine for covering wire with an insulating material, such as asbestos fiber, or other suit-able material, and in such connection it relates particularly to that step in the process known as compressing the fiber upon the wire, or in other words, the insulation compressor. Most'of the machines now employed for this urpose are unsatisfactory owing to the fact that the wire is conveyed from the stock reel around numerous corners which tend to bend and harden the wire which has been found very detrlmental to the uses for which the wire is intended; and furthermore, the asbestos fiber is often loosened and stripped from the wire by the rollers or compressors now in use. By none of the devices now employed can it be evenly compressed upon the wire, owing to the lumps of foreign matter adhering to the compressor. Also in many of the machines for a this purpose now in use the wire as it progresses or is drawn through the machine is constantly revolved and passed through dies and straightening devices which are detrimental and to a certain extent destroy its qualities.

By my invention the wire is drawn and progresses through the covering machine in a straight line from the stock reel and without being axially revolved, and by my novel construction of coverer for applying the insulation which is. revolved about the wire,

the asbestos fiber is applied in an overlap ping spiral about the wire and in a perfectly even state and retaining all of its flocculent qualities as received from the the asbestos fiber or other suitable material uponthe wire or other electric conductor, (which may be in cross section of any desired shape) as an insulating coating, the wire being drawn through the machine without being revolved upon its axis and the covering material and compressor being revolved about the wire during its application thereto.

WVit-h these and other objects in view my invention consists in certain construction and combination of parts as will hereinafter be fully described and claimed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts in all of the views. However it is fully understood that while I have here described and claimed my invention as herewith illustrated, I do not confine myself to the exact design as shown, as slight changes may be made in the construction and combination of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application :Figure- 1, is a side elevation of a wire covering machine embodying the present invention. Fig. 2, is a partial detail end viewof the same, showing the compensating mechanism to operate the wire winding reel. Fig. 3, is an elevation of one face of the compressing machine for compressing the insulating material upon the wire. Fig. 4, is a side elevation of the same with part of the case or housing removed. Fig. 5, is a top plan yiew of the same, taken on the line XX of In the drawings :1, indicates a suitable supporting frame upon which are mounted, first, the stock wire reel 2, from whence the bare wire or conductor 3, is drawn by having been given one complete wrap around the peripheral groove in the sheave wheel 4, which is operated by the worm wheel 5, meshing with the worm 6, mounted upon the driving shaft 7. The wire 3, after leaving the reel 2, is drawn through the guide 8, 'and the straightening die 9, of any suitable design and thence above and in contact with the revolving adhesive composition applying wheel 10, which is revolved within the composition pot .11, by the sprocket chain 12, driven from the main driving shaft. The wire now having been coated with adhesive composition is drawn through the center of the coveringor asbestos applying machine 14, which forms the subject of another application and which will be therein fully described and claimed. After leaving the coverer, above referred to, the wire now passes under the drip pot 13, which applies the outer coating'or waterproofing material, but this may be dispensed with if desired, as by my method it will not be found necessary. Directly in the rear of said compressor is situated the cooler or heater, as the case may be, and which is shown here as a cooler 15, for cooling the coating composition applied by the drip pct 13; or if a heater is employed, for baking said coating material upon the wire. The wire is now led around the friction drawing -wheel, before referred to, which draws the wire'through the machine by friction and thence between the guide rollers 16, and to the winding reel 17, upon which it is wound as the same is rotated by the action of the belt 18, which runs over the pulley 19. The object in employing a belt is that it will slip to com ensate for the variation of speed attaine by the reel 17, due to the positive delivery of the wire from the friction wheel, and the increasing diameter of the wire upon the reel 17. 1

The compensating mechanism for the wire winding reel 17, consists in the shaft 20, provided with the right and left handed screwthreads and journaled in the bearings 21, situated on the supporting frame. 1. One end of said shaft is formed with the spline 22, to allow the driving pulley 23, to freely slide thereon and yet rotate said shaft by the engaging feather. To the end of the frame 1, is pivoted the balance arm 24, which has attached thereto the shifting lever 25,

, whichhas its ends pivoted to the outer ends of the levers 26, which are mounted upon the I extension 27, of the bearing brackets 21.

The bearing brackets have attached to their inner ends the half screw-threaded boxes 28,

' which are thrown in and out of engagement 'upon the reel,

with the threaded shaft 20, and which by their engagement with said shaft 20, draw the wire Winding reel either to the right or left, for, as the-wire is wound it travels from one side toward the other as caused by the successive wraps thereon, and as it passes the center of the reel 17 the balance arm 24 is thrown over, thus bringing the proper screwthreaded box into mesh with the thread of the shaft to convey the reel 17, in the proper direction to accommodate the wraps of wire, and it will, therefore, be seen that this action is entirely automatic.

The asbestos applying mechanism maybe of any suitable construction, but is preferably and here shown of my novel design as coveredby an application for Letters Patent filed Jan. 20, 1909, Serial No. 473,243

from goin and entitled, a Rotary asbestos a-pplier for wire -covering machines.

Referring to the subject of this application the rotary compressor comprises a housing or case 29, which is divided horizontally through its center into two members, the lower member being secured upon the supporting frame 1, and provided with the bearing brackets 30, in which are rotatably mounted the shafts 31, which carry the V-shaped friction wheels 32, and the sprockets 33, which are connected together by the chain 34; one of the shafts 31, being extended and further provided with the sprocket 50, which is driven by the chain 35, from the main shaft of the machine.

The upper member of the housing 29, is provided with the bearing bracket 36, in which is mounted the V-shaped idle and retaining wheel 37.

"Rotatably and detachably mounted upon andfrictionally driven by the wheels 32, and 37, is the revolving circular ring 38, which is provided with the V-shaped groove in the periphery thereof for the reception of and adapted to be retained and driven by said friction wheels 32.

Integral with the front surface of the revolving ring 38, and directly opposite each other are the bearing lugs 39, in which are pivoted the swing compressor arms 40, which are formed with the bearings '41 in their outer ends. In the bearings 41 are rotatably mounted the shafts 42, upon which are secured the bevel gears 43, which are in mesh with the small gear 44. The gear 44 is formed with an axial orifice in the center thereof for the passage of the wire or conductor 3, and is rigidly retained in the box 45, which is provided on the cross-bar 46, of the lower housing member, and secured by the set screw 47. 4

'Upon the outer ends of the shafts 42, ad-

'jacent tothe bevel gears 43, are secured the compressor disks 48, which are formed with the beveled edges 49, which are parallel with each other at their contact with the wire andare in contact with and rotate about the surface of the asbestos coated wire 3, as the wire 3 travels forward through the orifice in the gear 44 and between the surfaces 49 the ring 38 is rotated about the wire and the bevel gears 43 are revolved by said ring being rotated about the stationary gear 44. The centrifugal force created by the revolution of said ring 38 will tend to. throw the bevel gears outward, and as the swing arms 40 are pivoted to one side of the center of gravity of said gears 43, the outward swing of said gears 43, will only serve to bring the compressor surfaces into closer contact with the coated surface of the wire, as the small gear 44, prevents them farther.

It will t us be seen that there is produced a rotary compression upon the covering of the wire, that will automatically adjust itself to all variations in the thickness of the insulation or any lumps of foreign matter therein contained; and also the wire covering will bercompress'ed with equal facility upon fiat wire, as the compressors will readily adapt themselvesto the greater diameterof the Wire, and the centrifugal force will bring their faces nearer together for the lesser diameter of said wire. In this connection it may be further stated that in compressing insu ating material upon a con ductor that it is impracticable to employ for this purpose rolls bearing upon the conductor in peripheral alinement in order that each may act uniformly on the insulation, or to employ a series of compressing plates or dies to operate under spring-tension as are now used on machines of this class when the conductor is rotated as it 'pro gresses through the machine, as there always remains in asbestos fiber pieces of hard fiber and foreign matter that are not crushed and when they are deposited upon the conductor in a diagonal or transverse relation to the axis of said conductor, they are struck by the rolls or compression plates and tend to carry the fiber from the conductor or to 'reduce the thickness of its depositgthus either entirely stripping the insulating material from the conductor or reducing the uality of the finished product, and it will t us be readily seen that my invention overcomes these obvious objections.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for depositing flocculent insulating material upon the surface of the wire or conductor which may be previously coated with an adhesive composition, of mechanism for compressing said insulating material upon said wire, com rising a housing mounted upon said mac inc ,1 in axial: relation to and surrounding said -W1I8 or conductor, a ring surrounding said wire or conductor and rotatably mounted in said housing, compressors pivotally mounted with a stationary upon said ring and adapted to be brought into a rolling and pressing contact by the centrifugal force caused by the revolution of said ring.

2. In a machine of the class described, in combination with means for feeding the conductor, and means for applying asbestos fiber in a flocculent state upon the surface of said conductor, of a ring encircling said conductor and adapted to be revolved about said conductor in an axial relation thereto, arms pivoted to said ring, revolving compressors mounted in said arms and adapted to be rotated in contact with said asbestos covered wire as said ring is revolved about said traveling wire, and means whereby the compressing mechanism adjusts itself to variations in thickness of said asbestos fiber.

3. An insulating mechanism for use in wire covering machines comprising a housing mounted upon said coverin machine, a ring surrounding the wire and rotatably mounted within? said housing and adapted to turn about said wire, arms pivoted to said ring and in a radial relation with the center thereof, ears rotatably' mounted uponthe ends 0% said arms and meshing gear mounted upon said housing, compressor disks carried by said revolving gears and ada ted to be revolved in contact with the surface of said insulation upon said wire, means for rotating said ring Within said housing and means for feeding the wire through said ring and housing in an axial relation thereto.

4; In a wire coating machine, the combination of a rotatable carrier, means for rotating said carrier, a rubbing device on said carrier, and means for so associating the carrier, the rubbing device and the wire as to cause the rubbing device to bear upon the wire by centrifugal force when the car rier is rotated. v

In testimony whereof I affix in presence ,01 two witnesses.

' nanny n owns.

' Witnesses:

WM. J. Cowman, Mil-BEL L. Lnrnvsn. 

